SYFY’s Krypton Features ‘Very Powerful’ Religious Guild

SYFY’s Krypton series will feature a ‘very powerful’ religious guild, it’s been confirmed. While Superman is often interpreted as a Jesus-like figure in movies and TV shows, the belief systems of Krypton itself haven’t properly been explored yet in live-action media.

In the comics, though, the spirituality of Krypton has been fleshed out in some detail. Raoism is the main religion on Superman’s home planet, taking its name from Krypton’s red sun, Rao. The comic book version of Kal-El has been known to exclaim “Great Rao!” despite having a Christian upbringing on Earth.

Cameron Welsh, one of the showrunners of Krypton, (who previously worked on Constantineand Ash vs Evil Dead)talked to Comic Bookabout the important institutions that will act as the pillars of Kryptonian society in the series:

“The world of [Krypton’s capital city] Kandor in our show is a theocracy, and the religious guild is very powerful. The political landscape is turbulent; there’s a very rigid class divide, and there’s the rank-less district, and there’s the gilded area — that’s the science guild, the religious guild, the House of Zod or the House of El. There’s a class divide and a big part of that class divide is religion. And Raoism is the dominant religion.”

It’s interesting that Welsh describes Kandor as a theocracy. If you’re unfamiliar; that term refers to a system of government where priests rule in the name of their god. With regards to Krypton, this means that Raosim is more than just a side detail of the story. It will be a core part of the whole society at play, to the point that any characters that don’t follow the religion will be out of step with their governing body.

Cameron Cuffe (Florence Foster Jenkins, The Halcyon) will star in the series as Seyg-El, the father to Jor-El and grandfather to Kal-El (aka Clark Kent, aka Superman). In the same interview, Welsh elaborated on the character’s role in the series:

“[He’s] not going to start out at like Kal-El or Jor-El. He’s not a classic hero in that sense. He comes from the streets. He’s a lot more rough and tumble. He’s got to learn. The show is his journey, really, into growing into one of those heroes that we associate more with that symbol.”

Krypton was developed by Man Of Steel’s David S. Goyer. The first footage aired at San Diego Comic Con 2017, teasing a Game Of Thrones-like world of warring factions and clashing families. It’s been confirmed that some familiar characters will appear.